Wall Street is desperately trying to handicap what stocks will do well depending on which presidential candidate wins. A Trump victory would perhaps favor stocks that are helped along by a weaker dollar. Conversely, a Clinton win probably would favor companies that are in renewable energy and similar areas. Regardless of who ultimately wins, rates are going to stay low, possibly for years, so solid big dividend stocks will remain in favor.
We screened the Merrill Lynch research universe looking for companies with at least a 4% dividend yield that should not see their business affected either way by the change in the White House, particularly those rated Buy at Merrill Lynch. We found four that should be just the ticket, regardless of the ticket that wins, that is: AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T), FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE), General Motors Co. (NYSE: GM) and Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE: PM).